Peters



D. 821T. MORRIS. Pneumatic Railroad-Signal.

No. 228,550. Paie-nted June 8,1880.

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N.'PETERS, PHOTO-LITHUGHAPHER. WASHINGTON, DJ).

limits Starts PATENT @rrreno DAVlD MORRIS AND THEODORE MORRIS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PNEUMATIC RAHLROAD SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,550, dated June 8, 1880,

Application filed December 1, 1875).

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, DAVID MoRRrs and THEODORE MoRRis, of San Francisco, California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Operating Pneumatic Railway- Signals; and we hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Our invention relates to the construction of the mechanical connections by which an aircompressor for supplying air for operating a semaphore signal is automatically operated by a passing train.

Our invention consists in the peculiar construction of the mechanism operateddirectly by the train and connected to the piston of the compressor, as more particularly pointed out in the following description and specifically claimed. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a general view of the entire device, Fig. 2 being a side view of the operating mechanism; Fig. 3, a detail view.

A A represent a railway-track; B, an aircompressor, and (J a signal-station. The compressor Bis placed at a considerable distance from the signal, and preferably on the opposite side of the track. It is provided with a proper piston, having a suitable valve adapted to close when the piston is forced up, and to open to allow it to drop to the bottom of the cylinder.

D is the piston-rod, which is slotted to receive a lever, E, pivoted therein and to a standard, F, secured. to one side of the cylinder. To the'other end of the lever E is attached a connecting-rod, G, the other end of which is pivoted to a slotted arm, H, provided with holes for adjusting the position of the rod 4.0 Gr. A plate provided with cars is attached to one of the sleepers, which may be extended for that purpose, and afl ords bearings for a rock-shaft, I, which passes through the slotted arm H and through bearings on the under side 5 of the rail. Upon the inner end of the rockshaft is. keyed a crank, J, provided at one end with a mama, K, which bears upon the upper surface of the flange of the rail when the crank is in its lowest position. On the outer end of the rock-shalt is a spring, 0, for the purpose of holding the crank in a vertical position, except when moved forward by the wheels of the train.

The crank upon the inner end of the rockshaft must stand in a vertical position in order to receive the impulses from the wheels of the train, and has necessarily a limited motion. The lever-connection with the piston of the air-pump must be so adjusted that this limited motion will give a suiiicient amount of stroke to the piston and bring the piston to the bottom of the cylinder, or permit it to come when the crank returns to its vertical position. If, therefore, the rockin shaft were rigidly connected to the arm H, which the shaft directly operates, the crank could be moved from the vertical position only in one direction, since any further movement in the direction opposite to that which lifts the pump-piston would bear upon the levers and connections after the wimp-piston had been brought'to the bottom.

In order to avoid this, and to provide sim ple and durable connection between therockshaft and its arm, we have fixed upon the rock-shaft a lug, a", as shown in section in Fi 3. This lug has a limited motion in a recess, 3 chambered out on one side with a perforation, through which the rock-shaft passes The position of this recess is such that when the crank is in vertical position, and the piston of the air-cylinder is at the bottom ready for a stroke, the lug a bears against the vertical shoulder or side of the recess, as shown in full lines, so that any motion to the left or in the direction of the arrow imparted to the crank imparts motion through the lug a: to the arm which operates the piston. At the same time motion in the opposite direction is allowed the crank and rock-shaft by reason of the movement of the lug x in the recess 3/ 'without disturbing the position of the arm thus connected to the rock-shaft. The train, therefore, passing in the opposite direction may throw down the crank and turn the rockshai't so as to bring the lug in the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3.

The roller on the crank allows the crank to be operated with the minimumv of friction and takes off a large part of the strain caused by the sudden shock.

The signal-station O is connected to the compressor by a tube, L, for conducting the air under pressure to the lever operating a semaphore attached to the station in any desired manner, and another tube, M, extends some distance along the track, and is connected to the tube L, as shown. At the end of this tube is a valy e operated by a crank, N, ot'similarconstruction to that before described, and like it provided with an anti-friction wheel.

In the operation of our device the wheels of the engine strikin the roller attached to the crank J operate the rock-shaft, and through the intermediate levers force up the piston, compressing the air in the cylinder and driving it through the tube to the signal-station, whereby the signal is displayed. After the train has passed the station, it operates the crank N, opening the valve and iermitting the air to escape. The spring on the end of the rocking shaft returns the crank to its vertical position whichever way it has been moved.

The operation of the devices by which motion is permitted in the direction opposite to that which operates the pump has been fully shown in the description of the devices themselves. These devices for communicating the motion of a passing train to any mechanism, such as the pneumatic purposes shown in connection with our im'ention, must be Very simple and at the same time durable and certain in their operation. These which we have described, and which constitute our invention, we have found to be ver 7 eflicient and in all respects satisfactory. I

We are fully aware that devices for automatically operating railway-signals by compressing air in a cylinder, the power being supplied by the moving train, are old and well known, and we do not, therefore, claim the same or any part thereof 5 but 7e claim as new and desire to Letters Patent The combination, with the air-compressor of a pneumatic signaling apparatus, of the lever E, connected to the piston-rod, a connecting-rod, Gr, arm H, provided with recess y, adapted to the lug m, the rock-shaft I, the crank J, and returnin g-sprin g, all as set forth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

secure by FRANK A. BRooKs, E. F. W001). 

